Who Were The Framers of Our Constitution?
Backyard barbecues, red-white-and-blue sparklers for the kids, and after-dark fireworks shows: For many Americans, these are the most iconic images conjured by the Fourth of July.
But this holiday is really about our nation becoming a country – and after the Declaration of Independence was signed, our Founding Fathers had a lot more work to do. Today, we look back at the framers of our Constitution and how they developed the document we base [...]

Smart packaging is still in its early stages and hasn’t yet seen wide roll-out to the world at large. But the technology provides some intriguing benefits that could nudge it into that wider marketing arena.
Before we dive into that, let’s define our term. Smart packaging employs an interactive element so consumers can learn more, engage with a brand, and more. The interactivity can come from NFC (near field communications), radio-frequency identification (RFID), augmented reality (AR), or other digital elements.
One [...]

In our increasingly connected world, it seems like just about everything is becoming a “smart” version of itself. Some of these smart items can be really useful. Others are more of a novelty.
Landing in the first category is smart paper technology, which uses printed, sticker-applied, or drawn radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags to embed sensor capabilities into a sheet of paper.
How Does It Work?
There are a few different methods to create RFID tags on paper. First, the tags can be [...]

For print providers looking to become valued marketing partners to their customers, cross-channel marketing is an essential tool. But with so many channels out there, it can seem overwhelming – which channels do you choose, and how do you use them effectively?
If you’re looking for a little inspiration, the following brands provide great illustrations of creative ways to tie various channels together to deliver a compelling message.
1. Alcon Produces a Kid’s Book
Winner of Chief Marketer’s Gold award for best [...]

With June fast approaching and the warm weather just within our reach, many people look to Memorial Day as that unofficial mark to the beginning of summer – complete with a beach day, barbecue, and three-day weekend. But we are often so busy gathering around the grill or lounging by the pool that we forget the real significance of the day which is so much more than some time off.
Memorial Day, formerly known as Decoration Day, is a day [...]

Augmented reality (AR) has been around for a while now, and several marketing campaigns (such as IKEA’s furniture shopping app) have piqued marketers’ interest.
But with the explosive popularity of 2016’s Pokemon Go game, more companies are realizing the potential of the technology to grab customer attention. If AR isn’t in your bag of marketing tricks, it might be worth a look.
Definition
First, let’s look at what AR actually is. In case you’re not familiar, AR is a blending of virtual [...]

In a previous blog, we talked about some of the big mistakes small businesses make regarding keeping their data secure. With even some big-name companies seeing major data breaches in recent months, data security is an important topic.
If you’re not sure where to start, we’ve got some best practices that should form the foundation of your data protection policy:
1. Assess and update your current security practices
How many people in your company have access to sensitive customer information?
The more people [...]

In December of 2017, search engine and email platform Yahoo uncovered a data breach from 2013 that involved over a billion user accounts. In November, an independent researcher found a privacy hole in Cisco’s Professional Careers website that left sensitive data open for prying eyes. And just last month, Verity Health System notified more than 9,000 patients that their personal information may have been stolen through a medical group website no longer in use.
According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, [...]

Staying competitive in this digital world means more than just cutting your prices to the bone. You need to find ways to improve productivity and deliver more value to customers so they no longer see you as another vendor to price-shop – they see you as a partner in their marketing efforts.
One way to improve your productivity is to automate as many of your daily tasks as possible. By using a digital storefront (also know as web-to-print) with a [...]

According to the FEC filings, Donald Trump spent 37 cents of every dollar on direct mail, whereas Hillary Clinton spent 20 cents. Unless you’re living under a rock, you know that Trump won the election. Trump was notoriously frugal during the campaign but spent $29 million on printing and postage. This contributed to him raising money from rural voters (62% of rural voters voted for Trump), as well as mobilizing them to vote.
So what does this tell us?
Targeting [...]